As we go to press, a coalition of unions and faith and community groups are calling for a general strike in Minnesota on January 23 to demand ICE out of the state. Let’s delve into some history and theory to help us move forward.
Labor’s Giant Step
What made the 1930s such a vibrant time for union organizing and labor militancy? Art Preis tells the tale in Labor’s Giant Step, a rich, full-on history of the rise and fall of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO).
The CIO formed during the Great Depression through a split in the American Federation of Labor, which focused on unionizing workers in skilled trades (the “aristocrats of labor”). The CIO took up the challenge of organizing and representing those lower-paid, worse treated and left behind.
The new federation used novel methods like flying picket squads. It defied legal injunctions. It battled the National Guard. It led sit-down strikes and general strikes. It involved victims of mass unemployment.
Today, the organized workers’ movement is in a fight for its life against union-buster Trump and the corporations. Labor’s Giant Step shows how to win.
Available through Pathfinder Press and vendors online.
Teamster Rebellion
A riveting account of one of the boldest, most militant actions in U.S. labor history, the Minneapolis Teamsters strike of 1934, Teamster Rebellion is written by a strike organizer who was a leader in the Socialist Workers Party, Farrell Dobbs.
The book provides an inside look at everything from assembling roving pickets to publishing a daily newspaper and mobilizing the unemployed in support. It is exciting to follow every twist and turn as local Teamsters dealt with politicians, police, National Guard, and conservative national union leaders who tried to force a sellout.
This is an inspiring tale of what is possible with radical leadership and democratic, rank-and-file control of every aspect of a struggle. As Minneapolis workers prepare for a possible general strike to drive ICE out of their city, they can learn a great deal from this part of their own history.
Available through Pathfinder Press and vendors online.
Revolution in Seattle
Harvey O’Connor’s memoir Revolution in Seattle recounts the electric story of the 1919 Seattle General Strike, when 65,000 people walked off the job on February 6 in support of striking shipyard workers.
The Pacific Northwest of the time was a hotbed of radicalism. Many strike leaders were inspired by the 1917 Russian Revolution. Although the city fathers attempted to use redbaiting to divide the striking workers, they were unsuccessful.
Organized by the Central Labor Council in defiance of the opposition of the American Federation of Labor, the walkout brought city businesses to a standstill. For five days workers’ committees operated everything, from mass strike kitchens to essential services such as hospital deliveries. An historic lesson was taught — the working class can run society. And without the bosses!
Available through Haymarket Books and vendors online.
Trade Unions in the Epoch of Imperialist Decay
If you wonder how labor leaders became so conservative and wedded to the Democratic Party, then Leon Trotsky’s Trade Unions in the Epoch of Imperialist Decay is the book for you.
This collection of articles chronicles the tumultuous 1920s and 1930s, but it is an analytical page-turner that delves into problems that persist to this day.
Trotsky describes how unions fuse with the state over time, a process that has only continued. But more than keen observation, the book is also a guide to action. He urges his comrades to advocate “complete and unconditional independence of the trade unions in relation to the capitalist state. This means a struggle to turn the trade unions into organs of the broad exploited masses.”
These pages offer an appreciation of labor’s revolutionary potential and sound advice for organizers today.
Available through Pathfinder Press and vendors online.
